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Dark Times

For those of you thinking of going darker with your hair, hereâ¿¿s a comprehensive guide from the amazing Angela DeCaria, a senior colorist at De Berardinis (one of NYC's chicest salons!): "When going darker whether...

For those of you thinking of going darker with your hair, hereâ¿¿s a comprehensive guide from the amazing Angela DeCaria, a senior colorist at De Berardinis (one of NYC's chicest salons!): "When going darker whether...

For those of you thinking of going darker with your hair, hereâ¿¿s a comprehensive guide from the amazing Angela DeCaria, a senior colorist at De Berardinis (one of NYC's chicest salons!): "When going darker whether you are a brunette or blonde, it's essentially the same process. The main goal is to always keep the hair healthy and shiny. When going from light to dark, it will require more time and a few extra steps to really achieve the correct tone. Depending on how light the hair is, going blonde to brunette usually first requires a filler. A filler is a semi permanent color that is 'filling' in what has been taken out when you are going blonde. When going blonde, all the pigment of the hair is depleted. The filler replaces those pigments, usually gold and red tones, so that when the darker level is applied the color has something to grab onto. If you were to put the darker color directly onto lighter hair the result would be muddy and probably greenish in tone. Blonde or lighter hair is more porous than darker hair. The filler acts as a primer for the desired level of darkness and will also help with the longevity of the color. It will help achieve better results for a deeper richer tone. Without the filler, the chances of the color turning muddy or greenish are likely. The life of the color will also fade a lot faster without the filler. When going from brunette to black, it can be achieved with applying a semi-permanent color. You are only depositing color--not lifting. A semi-perm color is healthier and will achieve great results. Depending on how dark you want to go, a colorist firsts looks at the level of the natural hair or existing hair. Color levels are based on a scale of 1-10. 1 being the darkest and 10 being the lightest. It really helps to have pictures of how dark you want to go to show your colorist--this helps in determining what may or may not be too dark and what works with your skin tone."